Arsenal – Stoke City

Arsene Wenger will be hoping that the last three weeks are the beginning of a resurgence for Arsenal. The underperforming Londoners have had a dreadful season in the Premier League, and currently sit 6th in the table with a 13 point deficit on the top four. It definitely looks like they will be missing out on the top four, but they remain in the Europa League and have seen some success recently.

The Gunners most recent success was their 3-1 win over AC Milan in the middle of March, a result which made it 5-1 on aggregate and put them through to the next round of the competition. In between these two legs was a 3-0 win over Watford, so the signs are certainly promising.

They have a rather favourable fixture list coming up too. They face relegation threatened Stoke and Southampton in their next two league games, with their first leg of their Europa League tie with CSKA Moscow in between.

Arsenal will be fully expecting three points from this game. They may be in dire straits, but they have still won 11 of their 15 Premier League games at The Emirates this season, and in Stoke they are facing a team who have failed to win their last seven matches.

The visitors lie second from bottom in the Premier League table, three points adrift of safety and with the two teams above them having a game in hand. It’s not looking good for Paul Lambert, and a recent training ground bust up with Ibrahim Afellay is unlikely to lift spirits within the dressing room.

Away from home Stoke continue to struggle. They have managed just one away win in the Premier League all season and have conceded a huge 33 goals on the road. In total, they have managed just eight points from 15 trips away, so their chances of getting anything here are looking slim.

We’re expecting a comfortable win for The Gunners. They have been excellent at times on home soil, and their attacking play has resulted in quite a lot of high scoring games. In fact, eight of their last nine home league games have seen at least three goals, and considering Stoke’s defensive crisis, backing an Arsenal Win and Over 2.5 Goals looks a good choice. Eight of Arsenal’s 11 home league wins this season have been by more than a single goal margin too, so we’re also going for an Arsenal -1 Handicap Win along with a 3-0 correct score predictions.

We’re also backing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to score anytime on Sunday. The Gabon forward has scored three goals in five league games for his new club, and with two of those coming at The Emirates, he looks the best choice for our anytime goalscorer predictions.

Head To Head

Arsenal have won four, drawn one, and lost one of their last seven meetings with Stoke, with all of those victories being won by at least a two goal margin.

Arsenal vs Stoke City Stats

Arsenal have won their last 15 home matches against Stoke in all competitions, a run that stretches back to August 1981 when Stoke won 1-0 at Highbury thanks to a goal by Lee Chapman.

Stoke, 1-0 winners at the Bet365 Stadium earlier this season, haven’t completed a league double over Arsenal since the 1975-76 season.

Arsenal’s current run of 12 consecutive home top-flight wins against Stoke is their longest winning run in their top-flight history.

72.9% of Arsenal’s Premier League points this season have been won in home games, the highest ratio in the division (35/48).

The Potters are winless in their last 17 Premier League matches in London (W0 D6 L11) since winning 2-1 at Tottenham in November 2014.

The Gunners are looking to secure back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time since November – they’ve won their last 24 home league matches against sides starting that day in the relegation zone, since a 4-4 draw with Tottenham in October 2008.

Arsenal Team News

Santi Cazorla remains sidelined, whilst both Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac are doubts after sustaining injuries on international duty. Jack Wilshere is also doubtful, whilst Alexandre Lacazette has returned to training and should be fit enough to make the bench here.

Stoke City Team News

Stephen Ireland, Lee Grant, and Eric Choupo-Moting are all injured, whilst Charlie Adam begins his three match suspension and is also unavailable. Mame Biram Diouf and Kevin Wimmer are both doubts as well. Ibrahim Afellay is out of the frame for selection after a training ground bust up and is unlikely to feature for Stoke again this season.